Presentation Details
| Comparing Canine Detection Thresholds in Indoor vs.Outdoor Environments Madalyn Bower, Liza Rothkoff, Arieli Daieny Da Fonseca, Nathaniel J.Hall, Edgar O.Aviles-Rosa. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA |
Abstract
Sensory studies are often conducted in clean homogenous environments with minimal distractors. Detection dogs, however, often operate in complex outdoor environments, and testing under these environments may be important to assess operational capability. We investigated whether the testing environment has important impacts on detection dog capabilities. We compared dogs’ (n=5) odor detection threshold to 1-bromooctane in a laboratory environment and in a less controlled outdoor environment. Dogs were first trained to perform a 3-AFC task both in a controlled indoor laboratory room and outdoors. To evaluate threshold, dogs completed blocks of 10 trials that descended in concentration in half-log steps until accuracy dropped below 60%, with a starting dilution of 10-3.5 v/v in mineral oil. We used a probit regression model to calculate each dog's 75% detection threshold in each testing environment. Mean detection threshold for 1-bromooctane did not differ significantly across testing environments with outdoor threshold at 10-5.37 and indoors at 10-5.46. These findings support the operational validity of previous indoor threshold studies.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
Content Locked. Log into a registered attendee account to access this presentation.